path: root/content-org/reviews.org

#+TITLE: Blog
#+AUTHOR: Michał Sapka
#+URL: https://michal.sapka.me/blog/
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#+HUGO_SECTION: review


* Reviews                                                          :@reviews:
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_HUGO_SECTION: reviews
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: _index
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract Reviews2
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :reviewSection '(Books Games)
:END:

** Reviews

My reviews of fun things!
* Books  [0/0]                                                        :@reviews:
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_HUGO_SECTION: reviews/books
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :reviewSection '(Books)
:End:

** Book reviews
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: _index
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract Reviews of books
:END:

*** Book reviews

This is a list of books reviewed on my site.
It's mostly all speculative fiction - SciFi or Fantasy, as those the genras which get me going!

** DONE Nine Princes in Amber (Roger Zelazny, 1970)
CLOSED: [2024-07-22 Mon 23:21]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: nine-princes-in-amber-1970
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract The fastest fantasy book in the wild west
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 4
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/nine-princes-in-amber.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :related '("Chronices of Amber: Corwin cycle")
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :relatedName Nine Princes in Amber
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(/brain-rot/fantasy/chronicles-of-amber/nine-princes-in-amber/)
:END:

That's one confusing novel.

Corwin wakes up in a hospital in New York with amnesia.
But the cover of the book has castles and swords![fn:cover]
Well, as it turns out Corwin is one of nine princes of Amber, the greatest city that has ever been.
It is medieval-Europe, but it is said to be the greatest, so who am I to argue?
He will need to get back there and fight for the crown with his siblings.

That's the basic premise.
What threw me off the guard (except of starting in modern-day NY) is the pace.
I'm no fantasy know-it-all, but it appears that this genre likes to take it's sweet time.
Authors describe every tree by every road[fn:tolkien].
They love to build their worlds, lore, characters.
Zelazny doesn't care about any of that.
A huge battle where 20 000 people die? A paragraph seems like a proper length.
Magic system? Yeah, let's throw a few sentences here and there.
The main character background, looks and goals? Let's not bother.
This is a short book (my version had just over 200 pages), but with standard wordiness, it could be a thousand pages long leather-bound brick, that would serve as a nice weapon.

This also means that /Nine Princes in Amber/ is extremely shallow.
There is nothing underneath - just a few awful characters, a few OK, and our Corwin.
If there is any subtext, I must have missed it.
And yet, I loved it.
It's pulp, but it goes /so fast/ that I never got tired of it.
It went /so fast/ that I had no time to get bored or lost[fn:tolkien].
Guess that's why /The Chronicles of Amber/ is one of the most popular Fantasy sagas out there.
It is inoffensive, not challenging in any way, but it's cool.
It knows it, and doesn't pretend it.

I enjoyed it for what it is.
It's the greatest mindless fun I've had in ages.
It's not /hardcore/ fantasy, and this may be why I liked it so much as I did.
If anything, it's /Magnum P.I./ of the genre.

[fn:cover] or whatever your edition has
[fn:tolkien] hello Tolkien


** DONE Guns of Avalon (Roger Zelazny, 1972)
CLOSED: [2024-08-31 Sat 22:25]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: guns-of-avalon-1971
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract My short review
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 4
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/guns-of-avalon.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :related '("Chronices of Amber: Corwin cycle")
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :relatedName Guns of Avalon
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(brain-rot/fantasy/chronicles-of-amber/guns-of-avalon-1971/)
:END:

The fastest fantasy in the wild west continues where we left off.
Corwin escaped his prison, and armed with newly regrown eyes, is ready for his revenge.

/[[/fantasy/chronicles-of-amber/][Chronicles of Amber]]/ are like nothing I've ever read.
Mostly because I've never been into fantasy, but still.
At no point of /Guns of Avalon/ nor of /[[/fantasy/chronicles-of-amber/nine-princes-in-amber/][Nine Princes in Amber]]/ have I felt that I'm reading a published book.
It's rather what I would imagine as a synopsis of the book that one sends to an agent would look like.

Characters? Screw them, they only serve a purpose.
The world? Screw it, let's create it as we go.
Magic system? I am sure not even Zelazny has any idea how it works at this point.

But at the same time, I can't stop reading it.
From outside, those two books I've finished sound like pulp.
I should hate it.
But there is so much going on, and those things happen fast.

Corwin's goal this time is to buy carbines from the Royal Air Force and retake Amber.
Yup - this magical being, from an eternal family, who is able to travel between dimensions[fn:shadows], whose eyes just regrown, is planning to retake a magical land using firearms.
And somehow it all makes sense.

/Guns/ serve as a direct continuation of the first book, but the ending paints a different route the series seems to be heading.
I am very much invested and I interested what's going to happen.
I should hate this book, but I love it.

Zelazny, you were a strange writer indeed.
This series reads like a creation of some D&D infused teen, and yet I can't put it away.

[fn:shadows] or whatever Shadows are


** DONE Sign of the Unicorn (Roger Zelazny, 1975)
CLOSED: [2024-09-07 Sat 22:14]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: sign-of-the-unicorn-1975
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract My short review
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 4
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/sign-of-the-unicorn.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :related '("Chronices of Amber: Corwin cycle")
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :relatedName Sign of the Unicorn
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(brain-rot/fantasy/chronicles-of-amber/sign-of-the-unicorn-1975/)
:END:

We are halfway through the Corwin's saga, and Zelazny decides to step up the game. 
Sign of the Unicorn is much slower than the previous ones, which is a welcome change.
But it also marks the point when Roger finally convinced me that he understands the word he creates.

After the battle with his brother, Corwin is faced with a murder of a yet /another/ brother.
This does not lead to a run through the Shadows to buy nukes as I would have expected.
In fact, most of this volume is spent talking.
We have a mystery, the family secrets are coming out.
It's a wholly different experience than what we've had before.

We've got intrigue, we've got drama, we've got betrayal.
We even learn who stands behind Corwin's accident, which happened before the start of /[[/fantasy/chronicles-of-amber/nine-princes-in-amber/][Nine Princess...]]/.

This may the best book of /[[/fantasy/chronicles-of-amber/][Chronicles of Amber]]/ yet because Zelazny seems to address most of the downsides the earlier books had.
Characters became actual persons now, with motivation and aspirations.
In fact, the world building is sidestepping for character building, and I, for one, am fully for this.

As a result, the stakes are also different.
We assumed that all of the /Black Road/ problems resulted from Corwin's curse, but now we learn that there are multiple layers below that.
In fact, a lot of what we thought we knew turns out to be wrong.

The only downside I see, at leat at this point, is that everyone important is either Corwin's  relative or acquaintance.
I get that if you got your position of power purely from the family, the same family will be the centre of your life, but /come on!/.
I want to get to know someone else!

So, volume three of /[[/fantasy/chronicles-of-amber/][Chronicles of Amber]]/ looks more of a correction from the author, than a direct continuation.

** DONE Hand of Oberon (Roger Zelazny, 1976) 
CLOSED: [2024-09-22 Sun 22:42]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: hand-of-oberon-1976
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract My short review
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 4
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/hand-of-oberon.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :related '("Chronices of Amber: Corwin cycle")
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :relatedName Hand of Oberon
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(brain-rot/fantasy/chronicles-of-amber/hand-of-oberon-1976/)
:END:

The plot thickens!
We end where we left of: turns out that Amber is the home of the original Pattern, which is badly damaged, and we need to fix it.

I think I start to understand why I find /[[/fantasy/chronicles-of-amber/][Chronicles]]/ so particular, yet I can't put it away.
The volumes here are not distinct parts with an an beginning and an end.
It's closer to modern-day TV, where you get an interesting hook at the beginning, the middle is ok-ish, but the end makes you hungry for the next episode.
As much as I hate that /binge-watching/ formula, I have nothing against it here.
Fantasy books rarely make anyone rich, but a man's got to eat.
The length of each volume here also doesn't make it any worse, as they all about 200 pages long.
Brandon Sanderson's signature is longer than that.

Story wise, /Hand of Oberon/ is more of the same: scheming of Corwin's family and deepening the world.
The world is not redefined again, but we're once again getting something surprising.
However, since it's the 4th book, it comes a bit predictable[fn:exp].
While I was not expecting the Avalon not to be /the real/ Avalon in the /[[/fantasy/chronicles-of-amber/sign-of-the-unicorn-1975/][Sign of the Unicorn]]/, here the surprise came both, less unexpected and a bit and less important.
But we will see in the next book.

All in all, while I had /loads/ of fun, /Hand of Oberon/ is only the 4th book of the series.
If you've read it until this point, you'll have a blast one more time.
I surely had!
Now, this one of the first /fantasy series/ I've read but, I am surprised by the stability of quality.
While Zelazny has made some changes to the formula since /[[/fantasy/chronicles-of-amber/nine-princes-in-amber/][Nine Princess...]]/, they were not significant enough to have any impact on my joy. I like the later volumes more than the first two, mostly due to the slower pace, but I have the same level of satisfaction.

I've got one last chapter of Corwin's story and I can't wait!

[fn:exp] make that "very" if you read a lot of such stories

** DONE Time of Contempt (Andrzej Sapkowski, 1995)
CLOSED: [2024-03-24 Sun 22:27]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: time-of-contempt
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract My review of the second book in the Witcher saga
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(/blog/2024/andrzej-sapkowskis-time-of-contempt /brain-rot/witcher/andrzej-sapkowskis-time-of-contempt/)
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 3.5
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/sapkowski-time-of-contemt.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :related '("Witcher Saga")
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :relatedName Time of Contempt
:END:

It's a stain of my honor - I am a Pole, but I've never read The Saga.
It's not that I've never read any of The Witcher, but somehow I always stopped after the short stories.
Last year I've decided to finally fix this.
I am a proud nerd for crying out loud!

/Time of Contempt/ is the second part of The Witcher Saga, but it's also the 4th book about Geralt and his world.
Let's ignore the short stories for a second and let's talk about this book in context of The Saga.
Here it suffers from being the middle child: Andrzej is developing the characters and story, but it lacks a impactful begging and an end.
I haven't felt like that after finishing the /Blood of Elves,/ as it had a /begging/ and the ending was emotional.
Geralt reunited with Ciri.
The story is clearly not over, but we have a kind of closure.
We know she is safe and ready for what's coming next.

Here?
Here we have no beginning as it follows the last book.
It was to be expected.
But I fail to notice anything new created here.
Yes, we've got /amazing/ development of Ciri (I can't wait what how her blood heritage will screw over everyone), but nothing more.
It just moves from scene to scene[fn:st], not spending any meaningful time anywhere.
After 300 pages of this, it ends with Ciri joining some random group.
I guess I will get to know them in /Baptism of Fire/, but I am not yet there.
Are they good?
Are they cool?
Who the hell they even are?
For me it was a huge let down.

But the biggest thing missing in The Saga is humour.
Both, /Sword of Destiny/ and /Last Wish/ were hilarious.
It was not on Pratchett's level of humor, but Geralt was amazing when it came to deadpan.
Moreover, I have no idea how well it translated to other languages, as it was based on Polish humour, but:
the books were written for Polish reader who was expected to know /Szewczyk Dratewka,/ and therefore the way Geralt dealt with dragon was a funny refernce.
But this aspect is now completely missingm[fn:enemy-mine], but it was what made the short stories for me.

The biggest problem for me however was the fact I saw two seasons of The Witcher TV Series[fn:netflix].
It was terrible and had nothing to do with the book (luckily for me!), but the TV versions of Ciri and Yennefer were irritating at best.
Their book counterparts are not like that - Ciri is extremely cool and Yen is, well, not so bad - but the visual image is etched in my brain.
I finally start to have a separate personnas for them, but it was difficult.
Yes, to some extent Netflix ruined the books for me.

I was never a fan of /fantasy/, as I always preferred /SciFi/.
Give me a blaster or give me death[fn:rand]!
If I found /Time of Contempt/ as a random book, I would not care for the rest of the series.
It was ok, but nothing to write home about.
Sapkowski has a great style and I very much want more, but he has not told anything interesting here.
I will continue reading The Witcher, but mostly because it *is* The Witcher.

I liked reading /Blood of Elves/ much more.

I give it 3.5/5.

[fn:rand] If you get the refence know, that I am no longer that type of a person.
[fn:enemy-mine] We've got *huge* reference to /Enemy Mine/ in the single best part of the book, but it's not funny at all.
Sad, scary - sure; but not funny. Just like the movie.
[fn:st] ... /No one had a chance to interrupt/.
/It was really quite hypnotic/.
[fn:netflix] And not an episode more.
It was already too much.


** DONE Baptism of Fire (Andrzej Sapkowski, 1996)
CLOSED: [2024-04-25 Thu 16:27]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: andrzej-sapkowskis-baptism-of-fire
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract My review of the third book in the Witcher saga
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(/brain-rot/witcher/andrzej-sapkowskis-baptism-of-fire/ /brain-rot/fantasy/witcher/andrzej-sapkowskis-baptism-of-fire/)
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 4.25
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/sapkowski-baptism-of-fire.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :related '("Witcher Saga")
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :relatedName Baptism of Fire
:END:


/Baptism of Fire/ is the third novel in the /Witcher/ saga.
While I had not that positive reaction to /Time of Contempt/[fn:toc], this time I loved every page.

We start where we left last time: Ciri joins Rats in the middle of nowhere, while Geralt tries to find her.
Reads like every novel in the series.
Andrzej seems to have a template for a book at this point.

But I *loved* this book.
And it comes to who is it about.
Yes, we've got Ciri.
Yes, we've got Yennefer.
They exist, but we spend almost the entirety of the book with Geralt, Jaskier and a band of mischiefs who form a fellowship.
We've got Milva, an archer.
We've also got Zoltanm, a dwarf.
And we've also got Regis, a vampire.

Having spent quality time with an interesting, diverse crowd made it very enable ride.
They even joke sitting by fire!
I think lack of such interactions is why I disliked the last book.
It was full of Ciri, Yennefer and other sorceresses while Geralt was ignored most of the time.
And sorceresses are so up-tight and irritating, so it was not what I would call a nice time.
Also, here, whenever the action moved to, either Rats or mages, my enjoyment went down significantly.

I don't know why, as I generally don't read fantasy.
Maybe they are written poorly?
I don't know the standards.
For sure the female characters here have nothing to show compared to /Game of Thrones/'s ones.
It is very hard to write powerful characters who are also female.
Most of the time, they are male characters in skanky clothes.
R.R. Martin was able to create menacing woman, who were still woman.
Sapkowski?
Not so much.
And they are not even funny!

They look as a poor rendition of older hits.
As an example, the sorceresses have a multi-generational plan to mix genomes from selected people in order to create a very specific being.
It's /Dune/, but while Bene Gesrit  so much more involved, twisted and multidimensional, here it comes out of nowhere (I think?) and disappoints.

But let's ignore the woman for a moment, and we've got ourselves an awesome little book.
I loved how, in one introduction to a chapter, we see the same legend told from both sides - Humans and Elves.
This is where /Witcher/ shines.
It's a great commentary about racism and hatred.
No wonder it comes from Poland, with our complex history.
It's as subtle as a bulldozer, but it's not that type of story.
It's obvious, blunt and takes no prisoners.
History is never easy, there is never a clear split between the good and bad guys.
Most likely everything you know is wrong, as it was written by victors.
This is the overarching theme in the /Witcher/.
Even a vampire may be a good person!

So, for me Witcher is a moral series /dressed/ as fantasy.
The magic system is barely there, no one explains /how/ Witchers work.
And I think it's a plus.
The meat of the story is not diluted by mechanics of the world.
The fact that we've got that lovable bunch here is just icing on the cake.

Also, the ending here is much better.
I finished my review of /Time of Contempt/ assuming that I will get to know the Rats in the follow-up.
I didn't know anything about them (nor I cared about them), but I assumed they will be the focus.
I was wrong.
I still have no idea who they are outside superfluous facts the short burst of their story the book has.
I /know/ Regis and I want to spend more time with him.

So, I left very satisfied.
I found charm and a lot of substance.
I hope that Ciri's plot will develop in interesting ways, as her teenage rebellion may be the end of me.

[fn:toc] vide [[/brain-rot/witcher/andrzej-sapkowskis-time-of-contempt/][my review]]


** DONE Tower of the Swallow (Andrzej Sapkowski, 1997)
CLOSED: [2024-05-25 Sat 22:11]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: andrzej-sapkowskis-tower-of-swallow
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract My review of the 4th book in the Witcher saga
:EXPORT_HUGO_PAIRED_SHORTCODES: rating
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 4.25
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/sapkowski-tower-of-swallow.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :related '("Witcher Saga")
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :relatedName Tower of the Swallow
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(brain-rot/fantasy/witcher/andrzej-sapkowskis-tower-of-swallow/)
:END:

It's hard to overestimate how popular the Witcher books were amongst polish youth in the 90s.
Everyone talked about it, the books were borrowed everywhere[fn:nerds].
And yet I have never read it.
Now, in 2024, I am so close to no longer being a /bad Pole/.

/The Tower of Swallow/ starts with throwing out the window everything I was expecting after reading /Baptism of Fire/.
Rats? Nope.
Mages? Some.
Ciri? Lots.
Geralt? Lots.
Sapkowski's craft improves with every book and I could not be happier.

Let's start with the bad.
This book ignores most social commentary, which is a huge letdown.
With each passing book there's less and less of that.
Instead, we're getting better story, characters become more interesting and the story is actually gripping.
They are /better/ stories, but /worse/ books.
If it wasn't for the huge increase in quality of the story, I'd be disappointed and my day would be ruined.

Now, the good.

First thing that may surprise the reader: chronology is also thrown out the window.
We learn most of the story from Ciri's gossip /after/ it happened.
Guess Sapkowski became a bit bored with winning all the awards by just being there, so he tried to make it more difficult.
At first, I though that this will remove all the suspense - we know that Ciri will survive, but it fits the story.
It's not about if she gets through, but rather who she will be afterwards.

And this is the second thing.
/Tower of Swallow/ aimes at different audience, I guess?
Not only is it not about social commentary, not only is not about things Witchers do, but it is no longer an adventure story (for a huge chunk of the text).
Ciri is having a very terrible time here.
She is captured, tortured and abused.
And even though Sapkowski makes it very clear that no sexual abuse is happening, it's still far from what I would expect.
The character of Ciri is also changing.
She is (rightfully) angry, spiteful and thirst for vengeance.
Basically, a teenager with a sword.

The books becomes more and more gruesome.
Now, I love edgy stuff so every time Sapkowski describes mutilation, I am all for it.
It is, however, a stark change from the early Witcher stories.
We've got no humor, no fun.
Just pain and suffering.
Even Geralt at one point says that he is no longer a Witcher hunting monsters.
It's a completely different story.
And even if it's less adult oriented, with all the subtext removed - but it's more serious at the same.
The stake are higher, the risks are bigger.
I dig it.

But the biggest problem at this point is CD Projekt.
We've got the games which take place /after/ the books.
We know that all the destruction, that everyone is talking about, will not have real consequences.
But even if this makes the entire series a bit pointless, it is still a pleasure to read.

[fn:nerds] at least amongst us, nerds.


** DONE Lady of the Lake (Andrzej Sapkowski, 1999)
CLOSED: [2024-06-15 Sat 22:06]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: andrzej-sapkowskis-lady-of-the-lake
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract My review of the last book in the Witcher saga
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/sapkowski-lady-of-the-lake.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 3.75
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :related '("Witcher Saga")
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :relatedName Lady of the Lake
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(brain-rot/fantasy/witcher/andrzej-sapkowskis-lady-of-the-lake/)
:END:

I had a /blast/ with the Witcher saga.
There were ups, there were downs.
But all in all, it was great.
I have now finished the *most important* Polish series of books[fn:fight], and therefore I no longer feel like a bad pole.
Unfortunately, I did not like the last volume.
My biggest gripe with /Lady of the Lake/ is that it's not an ending, but rather loosely-connected series of endings.

It starts with Ciri talking with Galahad from King's Arthur court, so yeah.
There's a wild ride in front of us.

The first significant chunk of the book is a continuation of Ciri's torment.
Everybody wants to either impregnate, take body parts, or simply kill her.
I know life was terrible for her since she got disconnected with Geralt.
I get that it's kind of /the point/ - she is not treated as a person but rather as a (depending on who is on the other site) force or part of a bigger plan.
But come one, give her /some/ break!
At this point I just wanted her to get a break, sit back, and relax.

This happens (because it needs to), but only in one of the 25 endings that follow.
We've getting an ending of the war plot, a dedicated subplot dedicated to love affair's of Dandelion, yet another plan to get Ciri's DNA, and so on.
It doesn't feel like Sapkowski had a plan to finish every plot he opened, so he just makes a series of endings.
If I hadn't been reading a dead-tree version, I would have assumed that the story will end in a few pages after /every freaking such semi-ending/.

But at the same time I enjoyed every story from /Lady of the Lake/.
Sapkowski is at top of his game.
He may go overboard with non-linear story telling, but once I /yet again/ understood when I was, I was having a blast.
It's all here: the story, the characters, the style.

Taking look at the saga as whole, I was expecting something completely different.
It started as a series of funny stories, but most of the saga is dead serious.
I was expecting a lot of the Witcher's huntsm, however through most of the saga, Geralt is solely focused on finding Ciri and has no time for monsters.
I was expecting a lot of nods to Polish reader, and while there were /some/, the books take place in their own world[fn:netflix].

Every book is different, author changes the dynamic and puts focus on a different place.
Sapkowski learns from each book and tries (and then mostly succeeds) to correct mistakes with the next one.

But, like with the previous one, tension is removed by the knowledge that the games take place /after/ the saga.
We know that main characters will live, because we meet them in the game.
And even if we don't care about computer games, it's impossible to not see some random picture and as a result spoil the book.
We know that Ciri will not reign fire and destruction upon the world.
Sapkowski may never approve of the story CD Projekt came out with and not treat is a /part/of the cannon, but the fact stands: we know that the world still exist.

It's a strange situation, where the world knows the books from the games, but the saga is lessened by their very existence.
However, even with knowing that the story is, ultimately, pointless, the saga is well worth a read.
I'd say it's great.
And the last volume I am attacking here is still /good fun/, just not good as an ending of such great saga.

[fn:fight] Yes, I said it.
No Nobel, but it's the most known piece of Polish culture.
Fight me.

[fn:netflix] I blame witch-hunt after the Netflix series dropped.
Seems most of the die hard fans never read the saga.



** DONE  Interesting Times (Terry Pratchett, 1995)
CLOSED: [2024-02-13 Tue 21:06]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: interesting-times-1995
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract A very short review
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(/blog/2024/interesting-times/ /brain-rot/discworld/interesting-times/ )
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 3.75
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/pratchett-interesting-times.jpg
:END:

Cover blurp:
#+begin_quote
Mighty Battles! Revolution! Death! War! (and his sons Terror and Panic, and daughter Clancy).

The oldest and most inscrutable empire on the Discworld is in turmoil, brought about by the revolutionary treatise What I Did On My Holidays. Workers are uniting, with nothing to lose but their water buffaloes. Warlords are struggling for power. War (and Clancy) are spreading through the ancient cities.

And all that stands in the way of terrible doom for eveyone is:

Rincewind the Wizard, who can't even spell the word 'wizard' ...

Cohen the barbarian hero, five foot tall in his surgical sandals, who has had a lifetime's experience of not dying ...

...and a very special butterfly.
#+end_quote

I am, what one could call, an old school /nerd/.
All I care about are old operating systems, ancient editors and old SCIFI[fn:manga]
Ah, and some text based game where you are a cute "@".
/Of course/ I like Pratchett.

I started reading him /years/ ago in the only way acceptable - chronological[fn:wrong].
And I had a few years long pause.
Now, after a series of reading /only/ technical books I am returning to fiction.

/[[https://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/books/interesting-times/][Interesting Times]]/ is an ok-level Pratchett book.
It's not close to his best, it's not close to his worst[fn:worst].

This time Rincewind has to travel to Counterweight Continent and help a rebellion.
There he reconnects with old acquaintances - Twoflower, and Cohen to Barbarian.

The problem is that there is not much more.
We've got a lot of Chinese things, which is new.
But the story itself is extremely straight-forward.
Nothing memorable happens.
I finished it 2 days ago, and already I would have a problem recollecting any standing out moment.
I still remember moments from other /Discworld/ books a decade after I read them!

But Terry's writing makes me not care and just enjoy the journey.
He is able to make a boring story interesting, and his characters are always great.
I was reading the book while putting my son to sleep, and I almost gave him a heart attack with a laughter attack.
This alone makes it worth it!

Not the best place to start with //Discworld// (the best is, of course, /Colour of Magic/) but as n-th book in the series it's very enjoyable.

I give it a =3.75/5=.

**** Meta
- Read as EPUB on Onyx Boox Note Air 2.
- Read in Polish translation
- Next up: back to Andrzej Sapkowski's with "Time of Contempt". I am not a good pole, having not read the entire saga. I promise to do it before my 40th birthday[fn:fort]


[fn:wrong] It's ok to disagree, just like it's ok to be wrong.
[fn:worst] Being a bad Pratchett's book still means being a very good one.
Most authors would love to reach the level of one of those at least once.
[fn:fort] Which is closer that I expected
[fn:manga] And manga&anime, but that's beside the point.
Not American comics though.
Never cared about those, and it seems I never will.

** DONE Good Omens (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, 1990)
CLOSED: [2024-08-31 Sat 21:47]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: good-omens-1990
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract My short review
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 3
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/good-omens.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :alias '(brain-rot/fantasy/good-omens-1990/)
:END:


But in the dark days o 1990, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman decided to co-write a book - /Good Omens/, which itself will be a parody of the /Omen/ horror movie.
It was quite the popular movie back then, but nowadays, it may be a bit forgotten.

Pratchett & Gaiman seem like a great combo.
The first one is a great story /teller/, while the later tend to provide better /stories/.
They are also both imaginable authors of speculative fiction.

The general idea of the story of the book follows the one from the movie: due to Satanist 
shenanigans, the antichrist is born to a family in power.
The end of times in near.
But, unlike the movie, it is not to be stopped by a detective but by an unlikely pair of an angel and a daemon.
None of them want to see the apocalypse, so they join forces to stop the antichrist - who turns out to be quite a nice kid.

For me, a computer nerd, the process of writing such a book is fascinating.
It's 1990, so no cooperative tooling exists yet, therefore Terry and Neil had to send diskettes to each other.
How cool is that!

#+begin_quote
I think this is an honest account of the process of writing Good Omens.
It was fairly easy to keep track of because of the way we sent disks to one another, and because I was Keeper of the Official Master Copy, I can say that I wrote a bit over two thirds of Good Omens. 
-- Terry Pratchett
#+end_quote

and it shows.
/Good Omens/ does not read like a joint venture, it's distinctly Pratchett.
You get Gaiman's love for the macabre and over-convoluted story, but if he were removed the cover, I would have never guessed.
There is a scene of mass shooting, which is something fitting /American Gods/  but it's written like we're in Ankh-Morpork.

It's not part of the /Discworld/ world, but on the surface it could have easily been. 
The humour is there, the seemingly unrelated descriptions which turns out to be an introduction to related thingies and so on.
But the world of /Discworld/ is far more interesting, crazier.
In that series, we've got an insane world and insane characters which try to remain sane.
/Good Omen/ however happens in our, boring world and most of the characters are "normal", but they act insane.

Nevertheless, since it's got two authors, it is a bit on the longer side.
Just enough to overstay its welcome by just a bit.
Pratchett is a master of the word and characters, but his stories  he tell are rarely interesting - and I was never a fan of Gaiman.
I didn't find what is told here much interesting, I was not curious how they will stop the apocalypse.
Nothing unexpected happened.
If it was 2/3 of the current size, if some of the crust was removed, it would be a better book, as the general idea is very cool.
But even in current state, it's very enjoyable and well worth the read /if/ you love Pratchetts style.


** DONE Heaven Makers (Frank Herbert, 1967)
CLOSED: [2024-06-19 Wed 12:06]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: heaven-makers-1967
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract My review of an early Frank Herbert novel
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/herbert-heaven-makers.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 3
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(brain-rot/american-scifi/heaven-makers-1967/)
:END:

Chems are a race of aliens being who learned technology allowing them to live forever.
With everlasting life comes boredom.
To mitigate it, they watch and record lives and history of /lesser/ races, one which being humanity.
They can not intervene, but current team foreseeing operation on Earth may have broken this rule.
Therefore, Kelexel is sent to investigate if this is the case, but he is pretending to be just a tourist.

At the same time we are observing humans whose lives are being recorded and (maybe) manipulated.

/Heaven Makers/ is a 1967 novel written by Frank Herbert about an immortal race of space beings who treat humanity as a toy.
OK, there's more to that, but it all boils to this - it's a simple story which gives no indications that just a few years before Herbert published /Dune/.

Let's get this out of the way: /Heaven Makers/ is not a great book.
It's not bad, by any means.
The plot is decent, the twists are cool, the characters are (mostly) OK.
It's not insulting, but it's never great.
It's also short, so all the underdeveloped or missed parts of the book never develop into real frustration.

And while I have enjoyed reading it over the course of 2 evening[fn:slow] and would not call the time /wasted/, I'm afraid in a year I'll have very little recollection of the events that I've witnessed.
If anything, it reminded me that I really need to watch /Twilight Zone/.
/Heaven Makers/ is very much like an episode of that type a show.
We've got an interesting question (what would you do with eternity?) with added twist (what if you are the victim of such creatures) developed into a full story.

One thing reader needs to keep in mind is the age to this book.
Your life being subjected to constant surveillance was something not only seen as scary, but also incomprehensible.
We're now treating is as entertainment (/Big Brother/) or even a way of living.
As always, SciFi comes with a twisted idea and warns us about it.
What we do with it?
Of course!
Let's build our lives around it!

If /Heaven Makers/ finds a way in your hands, sure - it's a nice read.
But I would not propose people actively search for it.

[fn:slow] I am a slow reader


** DONE Hard to be a God (Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, 1964)
CLOSED: [2024-07-07 Sun 22:41]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: hard-to-be-a-god-strugatsky-1964
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract A short review of an absolut marvel of a book
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/hard-to-be-a-god-book.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating  4.5
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(brain-rot/eastern-block-scifi/hard-to-be-a-god-strugatsky-1964/)
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :related '("Strugatsky brothers")
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :relatedName "Hard to be God"
:END:


I remember, back in high school when we were tasked with reading /The Master and Margarita/.
Teenage me loved this book about devil and demonic stuff.
Then they told us that all of that /cool/ stuff is just a cover to hide the real meaning of the book: commentary on the Soviet Union and communism[fn:teen].

/Hard to be a God/ is a novel by the famous Strugatsky brothers.
In the undefined future, humans are capable of space travel.
A group of scientists in sent to an alien planet to observe and report back.
The planet is populated by beings living in a society that reminds us of the Middle Ages.
However, the power shifts and a violent, hateful revolution starts taking place.
Intelligentsia is killed by angry crowd, and Don Reba getting more and more powerful.
That alien world is going into revolution.
Coincidentaly, this is how communism overtook Russia.

This is a hard book to get through.
The subject is very dark, and the form doesn't make it any easier.
One of the biggest problems here is: should observers interfere
The reader /wants/ a gun-blazing ride on Don Reba, but would it be ethical?
The observers have guns and flying machines.
They are able to crush anyone.
But this would only lead to more bloodshed and a circle of violence.

Which is another interesting aspect of this book - mediation on human condition.
Violence is /inherent/ to human race.
We see it all the time, and the writers put a mirror to our faces.
How many wars were fought not for survival, but for power?
World War I was called "The Great War" and was supposed to be the last war.
Humanity saw the absolute worse it can do, definitely we will learn from it.
We know how it ended.

/Hard to be God/ is, most definitely, an intelligent SciFi novel.

But I was not invested emotionally.
It's not visceral book.
It is disgusting, but you comprehand it more with your mind than heart.

At the same time, it's an easy read.
You could think that with this subject matter, the book would be offputting, but it's not.
I /had/ problems following names at some point, as every male character tends to be Don freaking something, but that's all.
It's an ejoyable read, if you don't focus on what's it actually about.

But when you do start thinking about the meaning, it becomes a completely different beast.
Authors don't spare the viewer.
There is a scene, where two young adepts are talking about torture methods, like it was nothing.
It' almost funny, if it wasn't so real.

/Hard to be a God/ is a short book, which is a great but challenging piece of art.
I'd call it a masterpiece, if I were emotionally invested.
As it stands now, it's closer to /Gulag Archipelago/ in a form of story.
Highly recommended, even if this would be your first encounter with Russian speculative fiction.

---

Movies based on /Hard to be a God/ are also amazing!

[fn:teen] Teenage me hated that, but as I mentioned occasionally, he wasn't very bright.

** DONE Roadside Picnic (Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, 1972)
CLOSED: [2024-07-15 Mon 21:35]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: roadside-picnic-1972
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract A short review of an absolute marvel of a book
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/roadside-picnic.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating  4.5
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :related '("Strugatsky brothers")
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :relatedName "Roadside Picnic"
:END:

/Roadside Picnic/ has a very particular heritage.
There is a book.
It was then made into a movie, which took the last 30 pages and went its own way. It's great.
Then they made it into a game, which takes some ideas for the basic premise, and then the authors went their own way, creating an antithesis of the book. I've been told it's good.
But this time: the novel.

In the near future, aliens have landed on Earth.
No one knows why, but they came and went without much ado.
Their landing site is now called /the zone/.
Before leaving, the aliens left some artifacts.
We don't know what they are, but there is the promise of giant leaps for mankind.
Therefore, a new occupation is born: - /stalkers/, who venture into the zone and try ans retrieve some alien leftovers.
The zone is dangerous, and stalkers often lose their lives upon making the smallest mistakes.

But /Roadside Picnic/ is not a book about that.
It's depressing and full of commentary on humanity.
Very often, people call it the best book by the Strugatsky brothers, and who am I to disagree?

But it is not a book about aliens, or the zone.
Those things exist, but first contact went and gone.
Stalkers are not the heroes of humanity, they are expendable criminals.
We think we may someday understand what happened, but we may as well not.
The aliens visited Earth, but most likely haven't found anything of interest.
What people are dying for, what may change the entire planet, may be nothing but some trash left on the side of the road.

The cosmos is not something to explore or conquer.
It's vast, and our planet is insignificant.

And this is what the book is about.
The Zone occupies very small portion of the novel, it's just means to an end.
Red, the main hero, is just trying to make a living.
He is not shy about drinking, visiting a bordello or cheating on his wife.
At the same time, he is not shown as an evil person, because his existence doesn't matter.
Even though he is one of the most experienced stalkers, his death would mean nothing.

The novel is also much less adventurous than one could expect, knowing the movie or the games.
We spend just a handful of pages in the Zone, the rest happens in the nearby town.
/Roadside Picnic/ is beautiful as anti-SiFi story.
Everything we were taught to believe by western SciFi, the authors ignore.
There is nothing /there/ for us.
We are /nothing/.
Space exploration?
Meeting aliens?
We don't even have any hopes or dreams left.

But this makes the novel timeless.
Our entertainment is no longer optimistic.
We are not going into /Star Trek/, we missed that ship.
Maybe hope in our insignificance is better than thinking we are our own worst enemy?

/Roadside Picnic/ gets my high recommendation.
Similarly to /[[/brain-rot/eastern-block-scifi/hard-to-be-a-god-strugatsky-1964/][Hard to be God]]/, the reader may breeze through it.
It's short, and it's easy to read.
But then we reach the last pages, where the weight of the story is passed us.

There was to be an American TV series based on /Roadside/.
All that we got was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dts0rjp5V8][trailer]] which clearly shows, that it is impossible to make an Americanized version.
In it, a shot of people saluting the stalker is shown, which is a complete antithesis of what the Stugatsky brothers are telling us.


* Games  [0/0]                                                   :@reviews:
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_HUGO_SECTION: reviews/games
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :reviewSection '(Games)
:EXPORT_HUGO_PAIRED_SHORTCODES: image
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image_dir "reviews/screenshots" :image_max_width 765
:End:

** Games reviews
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: _index
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract Reviews of games
:END:

*** Games reviews

I am not a "gamer" but I used to play games and I still do, from to time.
I get a lot less enjoyment recently, but still


** DONE Secret of Monkey Island, The (1990)
CLOSED: [2022-05-04 Fri 22:26]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: secret-of-monkey-island
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract Secret of Monkey Island is a classic point-and-click adventure game. This is my short review.
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(/2022/secret_of_monkey_island /articles/secret-of-monkey-island brain-rot/classic-games/monkey-island/secret-of-monkey-island/)
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 4.75
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/secret-of-monkey-island.jpg
:END:



In preparation for /Return to Monkey Island/[fn:rtmi], I have decided to replay the first three classic games[fn:2023].

Frankly, I played only the third one as a child, soon after release. "The Secret of Monkey Island" came out right after Poland became an independent country again, and I was still in kindergarten.
Three years later, I received my first computer - a (not so)powerful PC386.
I was a kid back then, and I knew very little English.
Certainly not enough to comprehend this game.
My first play through was sometime around the year 2002. 


[fn:rtmi] [[https://returntomonkeyisland.com/]["Return to Monkey Island" official webpage]]
[fn:2023] update from 2023: this is still in progress.
**** Running the game

Running this 30-year-old game is amazingly easy, thanks to SummVM[fn:scvm].
Just download the emulator, find a copy of the game, and everything runs perfectly on any system.
An updated version was released in 2009, but it was never released on Linux, and macOS/iOS versions are no longer working. 


You can also play in the browser via Internet Archive[fn:ia].


If you want the updated version, you can get it on GOG[fn:gog].

[fn:scvm] [[https://www.scummvm.org/][ScummVM website]]
[fn:ia] [[https://archive.org/details/mnkyega]["The Secret of Monkey Island" on the  Internet Archive]]
[fn:gog] [[https://www.gog.com/game/the_secret_of_monkey_island_special_edition]["The Secret of Monkey Island" on GOG]]

**** Playing the game

/The Secret of Monkey Island/ is a pirate-themed adventure with lots of humor.
The later games focused more on the funny aspect, but we have an interesting story here.
Guybrush Threepwood lands on Mêlée Island, where he starts his quest to become a pirate.
He will have to pass a test, find true love, and face a ghost pirate LeChuck.
Some say that the idea for the game came from Disneyland's "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride.
Some say the movie of the same name stole the idea from the game. The similarities are, for sure, not coincidental.
And now, since LucasArts is part of Disney, it all made a giant circle.

#+attr_shortcode: :file somi-splash.png
#+attr_shortcode: :alt And island in the dark. A big stylized text with the title of the game occupies most of the screen.
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
Title screen
#+end_image

/The Secret of Monkey Island/ was one of the earliest examples of adventure gaming done right.
You no longer need to guess and type which action the authors envisioned.
Instead, the game can be completely operated using a Mouse, as simple verbs represent all actions.
This interface has stood the test of time perfectly.
I tried (and failed) playing the original Zork games despite the fantastic writing due to the text interpreter.
Using the mouse is as simple as it gets. Pro hint: "." on the keyboard allows skipping dialogue lines in ScummVM.

#+attr_shortcode: :file somi-lazypirates.gif
#+attr_shortcode: :alt A group of pirates sitting on a barrel occupy left side of the screen. In center a short pirate stands. Bottom is occupied by UI with graphical buttons representing possible actions.
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
Lazy pirates and the UI
#+end_image

The graphics aged, but it did it like a fine wine.
The game was a marvel when it came out.
LucasArts hired actual graphic artists to do computer games.
This was still the wild west, and no one knew how to do it.
Nowadays, a game can take up gigabytes, and no one bats an eye.
LucasArts sold "Monkey Island" on floppies, and every bite counted.
Everything we see or hear was a sacrifice of something else.
Luckily, Ron Gilbert - the author and primary programmer on the team - was a legend.
He created the Scumm engine, which allowed non-technical folks to create games (by writing scripts, not code), but he also managed to find a way to enable the designers to use dithering.
You can listen more on YouTube

- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikaqus5_QIg][A five-hour chat with Ron Gilbert, the creator]]
- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri4_3P2Oh14][A two-hour interview with Mark Ferrari, designer]]
- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GABrEdG8Ez4][A short one-hour-long interview with Dave Grossman, designer]]
- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzorEPK6khk][Another interview with Ron Gilbert, this time only 45 minutes long]]

The graphical design is not only a technical marvel but a testament to design done right.
The islands look great, and I really wanted to explore them. 

But the most significant thing is the idea that the game should not punish players for experimentation.
Lucasarts biggest competitor back in those days, Sierra, always found creative and annoying ways to kill the player character.
Did you go a pixel too far? You fell from a cliff.
Have you met a monster you still lack the means of defeating? Time to die. Sometimes they even completely blocked their progress.
For example, in the first "Space Quest," you are expected to find a pixel-wide item on the very first screen.
If you skip it, the game won't tell you, and you can proceed.
Then, a few hours later, you need to use that item however you can no longer access that location.
And you are lucky if you even know about it. There was no internet back then to check the walkthrough!

LucasArts also was guilty of this.
For example, in the "Maniac Mansion," you could put a hamster into a microwave.
Cooking a hamster seemed funny, but it also blocked the player from finishing the game.
Ron Gilbert wrote a short manifesto where he stated that a game should not punish the player but rather encourage him to play.
And so, "The Secret of Monkey Island" has no pitfalls.
You are never in a position where your prior action blocks you from finishing the game.
This has not aged a single day.
And, since "The Secret..." is still one of the funniest games ever made, allowing the player to see the funny parts is what makes so many people play it after all those years.

There are still some puzzles that are far from perfect.
I solved Chicken with a Trolley puzzle solely because I remembered it after all those years - it's this bad.
Moreover, I had to resort to a walkthrough because the solution was based on wordplay, which was far from natural for someone whose English is a second language.
After I learned the solution, it made perfect sense.
I have to give it to the authors.
Everything in the game makes sense in the context of the game.
But there were times I could not make head or tails, and I had to resort to the old "let's use everything on everything" strategy - and it's simply not fun to do so.

On the other hand, "The Secret of Monkey Island" is also the home of one of the most fantastic puzzles I've ever witnessed - insult swordplay.
You need to defeat pirates in a sword fight, but the fight is an insult-response loop instead of an action sequence.
First, the pirate insults you, and you need to learn the proper response and use it, then you insult the pirate, and so on.
After a few rounds, you either win and advance to another pirate or lose, but you learn some new insults and need to look for a pirate who will know how to reply.
Ingenious! A cherry on top - this part was written by Orson Scott, the author of "Ender's game".

#+attr_shortcode: :file somi-swordfight.jpg
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Two pirates with swords aimed at each other. Bottom of the screen contains funny insults.
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
Insult swordfighting
#+end_image

The game consists of four parts.
Out of them, the first one is easily the most polished and exciting.
Luckily, it also took roughly half the total playtime of my play through.
The rest is still good (and the worst, I'd say, "Flight of the Amazon Queen" good), but the first few hours shine the most, and I am sure this is what most players remember.

Overall, the game was great and (despite some shortcomings) is still extremely fun to play.
I sure hope that "Return to Monkey Island" will keep the adventure/comedy ratio from this installment.

And if you get stuck, remember that the "Universal Hint System"[fn:uhs] is the best way to get unstuck without getting a ready answer.

[fn:uhs] [[https://www.uhs-hints.com/uhsweb/monkey.php]["The Secret of Monkey Island" on UHS]]


**** Memories Emporium

What I'll remember from the game?

Mostly, the amazing world. Mêlée Island looks great and is full of rememberable characters - like the Voodoo Lady or lazy pirates training their pet rat for a circus.
LucasArts has the gift of creating exceptional places.
Their later game, "Grim Fandango," shows Rubacava.
This is the one gaming place I simply return to from time to time, just to hang out there - but that's a story for a different time.
They create a believable world inhabited but not completely sane people.
Love it! I'll have to return here with my son when he is a bit older.

The insult sword fighting.
I guess I already remembered it as I say, "Well, you fight like a cow" from time to time.

Guybrush.
Since this is primarily an adventure story, he is fleshed out for an early 90s game.
I really like the guy.
He is quirky but also driven and a bit insane.
Like every good heron should be.
And he can hold his breath underwater for solid 10 minutes!

Not bad for a 6 hour game.

** DONE Yakuza 0 (2015)
CLOSED: [2024-06-12 Wed 19:32]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: yakuza-0
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract My review of the prequel
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :primary_menu "brain-rot-modern-games"
:EXPORT_HUGO_MENU: :menu "brain-rot-modern-games"
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 3.75
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/yakuza-0.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(brain-rot/modern-games/yakuza/yakuza-0/)
:END:

I have terrible reflexes, and therefore I am very disappointed with modern gaming's obsession with action-oriented games.
/Yakuza 0/ is a beat-em-up, so I should hate it.
I partially do.

As for the gameplay, I am not sold due to aforementioned problem.
In /Yakuza 0/ you walk around the town and fight bad guys.
We've got 3-D combat, combos, and quick time events.
Most of the time, this was all I've got.
A grueling mess of the type of gameplay I suck at horribly.
Luckily, this is a very easy game, so on normal difficulty I had very little problems with just mushing around and winning.

Then there's also a lot of additional content in the form of mini-games dressed as side quests.
You can buy properties, watch porn movies, manage a bordello, help make a movie, play classic Sega games, became a pro at some strange form of RC car racing.
But I don't care.
My biggest issue with Japanese games is the sheer amount of random stuff you can do, but has no real impact on the game world.
/Yakuza 0/ has a deep system for playing Shogi, as well as Dance Dance Revolution.
I may be too old for this, or I have not enough time (nor mental capacity), but I never get any enjoyment from such activities.
Make it integral to the main gameplay loop or don't bother.
I will not learn complex mechanics for a /mini-game/.
I barely have time to remember your combos!

As a gamey-game, /Yakuza 0/ is definitely not my type.
It may be yours - and if you like /modern/ games, then it most likely is.

But there is also the story and characters.
Those are the real meat of the game for me, and they made it an /amazing/ experience.

/Yakuza 0/ is a prequel of an already established series of games.
We control two characters - Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Mojima.
Kazuma wants to be a yakuza, but is presumed to be a killer of /civilian/, and as a result needs to leave the mafia.
His mission is to find who framed him.
Goro was a Yakuza, but due to mistakes of his past, he becomes a slave to a yakuza boss and needs to do his bidding.
At the same time a gigantic plot to take over an empty plot of land in the middle of the city is established.
Somewhere around middle point of the game, when all pieces started to fall on their places, I begun to be annoyed when they stopped the story for, well, game.

#+attr_shortcode: :file yakuza-0-2.jpg
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Topless asian scraming in a dramatic pose
#+attr_shortcode: :source https://www.rpgfan.com/game/yakuza-0/
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
Yakuza 0 can be over the top
#+end_image

#+attr_shortcode: :file yakuza-0-1.jpg
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Asian man holdig a remote control car
#+attr_shortcode: :source https://madmuseum.org/events/johnny-mnemonic
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
It is also silly
#+end_image
/Yakuza 0/ is a weird.
The main story is serious, but rarely becomes dark.
It's engaging, emotional, deep.
All side activities are silly.
Somehow it fits together nicely, but I don't know.
I'd rather this was a movie or a limited series.

Story-wise I have give my highest praises.
The main plot is masterful, characters are amazing (voice acting is superb).
Top bad I was thrown out of it in order to beat yet another group of thugs.
I clocked at 34 hours completing a bit over 18% of the game, so I am not target audience.
Still, the main plot pulled me back in.
After I started completely ignoring all side-content, I begun to enjoy /Yakuza 0/ immensely.
Yes, the final fight gave me thumb-blister[fn:qte], but after that we've got something like 26 ending scenes.
Each more emotional than the other.

I want to learn rest of the story of Goro and Kiryu, and therefore I'll continue playing other titles in the series.
Too bad that there's a game attached.

[fn:qte] And it still ended in a QTE.
Shame.


** DONE Grim Fandango (1998, 2020)
CLOSED: [2024-07-21 Sun 22:03]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: grim-fandango
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract My review of the prequel
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/grim-fandango.jpg
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 5
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(brain-rot/golden-age-games/grim-fandango/)
:END:

Content warning: I am extremely biased.
Expect orgasmic sentences.

There was no game company like LucasArts in their prime.
Between shovelling Star Wars games, they were the kings of adventure gamers.
They hired the best people, and they made the best games out there.
And /Grim Fandango/ is the finest example.
It is also my favourite game of all time.

Manny Calavera is a salesman in a dead-end job.
He has no chance for promotion, unless he scores big.
And the odds are stacked up against him, as his boss despises him.
All good clients go to Domino!
Manny decides to play it all out and /steal/ a great client from Domino.
The trick here is that Manny is a travel agent at the Department of Death, selling travel accommodation to recently deceased souls.

The list of negatives is very short: two puzzles (cat races and bone grinder) are very challenging to deduct, but they match the setting.
A lot of adventure games fall into puzzles where the only way to solve them is by sheer luck, but it's not the case.
It will take some time to piece things together, but after that, it all makes sense.

I first played /Grim/ in 1999.
The demo of the game, covering the first chapter, was added to a cover disc.
I played it on a loop, and up to this day I can recite all the puzzles and their solutions in order which they need to be solved.

/Grim Fandango/ is a 2,5D game, so the backgrounds are pre-rendered, but all characters are real-time 3D.
And how glorious each of those dimensions is!
The art style of the characters is inspired by Mexican day of the Dead puppets, called Calaveras (like the main character!).
Since the hardware of the day was not ready for spheres, so the models are simplified.
The backgrounds, on the other hand, are full of details.
But above all, it is extremely atmospheric.
Land of the Dead takes a lot from Noir cinematography, but makes all the scenes uniquely /Fandango/.

And the music!
The Mexican-jazz blend is fused with my soul.
Often I simply listen to it, even close to 30 years after release.
It hasn't aged a day, and it complements perfectly what we see.

#+attr_shortcode: :file grim-fandango-1.png
#+attr_shortcode: :alt A skeleton looking down from a balcony at racing stadium
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
Cat Racing becomes a problem
#+end_image
The voice acting is /perfect/.
Everyone did an astonishing job - be it Tony Plana as Manny ("Glottis, are you loco?"), Alan Blumenfeld as the demon driver ("Well, actually, it's mostly stock, with a few mods here and there...") to each passing characters in the smallest roles, like Milton James as a coroner ("We may have years, we may have hours, but sooner or later, we push up flowers").
Having a great script surely didn't make the job any more difficult, but they seem so real!

It all comes the high point of the game, the second chapter.
Here we spend some time in a port city, and oh what a city it is.
Up to this day, I have not visited a virtual place I'd love to visit more than Rubacava.
All the backgrounds, all the characters, all the puzzles.
They blend perfectly in a Casablanca-esque story, like no other.
Luckily, this is the longest chapter.

After we leave the city, it never reaches the same level - but no other game did.
Saying that "sorry, your other 3 chapters are not as good as the greatest part of a game I've ever witnesses" is something all other games can only dream off.
They are still great, full of great locations and characters - just not /as/ great.

And let's not forget the humour.
It's a LucasArts game, after all!
The game is hilarious, but in a way not many games tread.
It treats the characters and the setting seriously!
/Monkey Island/ is comical, but it never treats itself with any respect.
/Grim/ is different, as it's full of love towards the inhabitants of Land of the Dead.

#+attr_shortcode: :file grim-fandango-2.png
#+attr_shortcode: :alt A morgue with deceased covered in flowers
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
How to kill a dead person?
Cover with flowers!
#+end_image
I have yet to encounter any game that has /this/ exact combination of atmosphere, lovable and respected characters, and this much humour.
/Syberia 1/ is close - we visit desolated places inhabited by colourful characters, but it's treated with respect.
You learn about then, like them, and want to help them.
But it's not quite there.

What Tim Shafer achieved with /Grim Fandango/ is nothing short of a miracle.
It is a perfect game - at least in my book.
So, of course, it flopped.
It was too ambitious to fit a sensible budget, and it was released when adventure games fell out of fashion.
Sort of like /Chinatown/ perfected Noir when Noir was a thing of the past.

But, after the success of /Monkey Island/ remakes, /Grim Fandango/ got a chance to shine again in 2020.
A remastered version with better shading and 3D models (but the same backgrounds) was released on every platform.
It *is* a better version, so if it's still supported on your platform (screw you Apple), you can simply buy it and enjoy.
And even though I prefer the original tank controls, this version can be even played with a point&click interface.

Ending this review, where I simply say that /Grim Fandango/ is the greatest game I've ever played, I need to say that it's a game that does not need a sequel.
Mind you, I'd buy anything that would allow me to spend even a minute longer with the characters, the story is finished.
We get a /perfect/ ending when I always shed a tear.
Adding anything to it, would only lessen it.
Just like we don't need a /Casablanca 2/, we don't need a /Grim Fandango 2/.
You don't reach such heights multiple times - everything needs to align.
We are lucky to even have such a marvel, as /Grim/.


*** DONE Persona 5: Strikers (2020)
CLOSED: [2024-03-08 Fri 21:24]
:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: persona-5-strikers
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract A short review of SciFi classic 
:EXPORT_HUGO_PAIRED_SHORTCODES: img-c
:EXPORT_HUGO_MENU: :menu "brain-rot-modern-games"
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(/blog/2024/persona-5-strikers/ /brain-rot/persona/persona-5-strikers/ brain-rot/modern-games/persona/persona-5-strikers/)
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 2
:END:

/Persona 5/ took me close to a year... I think.
It was a gigantic game with unbelievable amount of dialogue.
It was also game I deeply enjoyed, despite not particularly liking anything about.
The story was ok, the gameplay was ok, the RPG element was ok, the dating was ok.
But, somehow, authors managed to join that into one freaking nice experience.

/Persona 5: Strikers/ is none of those things.
It's a linear button masher with characters I like.
But it has /none/ of the good elements of /P5/.

First, it's not an jRPG anymore.
When fight starts, you are presented with dozens of enemies you need to fight in real time.
Half of the time, I had no idea what was going on.
Fights, for me, are terrible.
Enemies were everywhere, and I had no /chance/ to control the battlefield.
Lots of annoyances and finger pain, but no enjoyment.
Just running into random spots, bashing melee attacks and checking for weakness from time to time.
I play on easy and was tired of that very quickly, I can't imagine having any actual problems with this system you have no enjoyment with.

#+attr_shortcode: "p5s-1.jpg" "https://nintendoeverything.com/persona-5-scramble-the-phantom-strikers-boxart-details-screenshots/"
#+begin_img-c
Guess the only way here is to shut my brain down, as it's useless in all this chaos.
#+end_img-c
The real-world activities are almost none-existent.
I loved how the Phantom Thieves bonded and became friends.
None of this here.
You've got some dialogue, but no payoff.
There is some stat related to bonding, but we all know each other.
In P5 the single best part was learning about each other and seeing how their lives improve.
None of that is here.

Dating?
None.
And my chosen love interest from /P5/ doesn't even show up!

Extracurricular activities are limited to finding stuff on maps.

Getting to know Tokyo?
Nope. Every few hours we move to a new city.

Story? Well, I gave up before it started.
After 10 hours, midway through the third jail I gave up.
I had to guard Futaba /again/ and after a moment became so frustrated and bored, that I stopped playing.

I give 2/5 for those 10 hours.
Maybe it gets better later on, but I don't care enough.
I dropped the game and will never return.